Gen. Chem II for Summer?

[3601]

Should I take General Chemistry II over the summer? I’m at a community college and plan on taking it here during the summer which is 1 month and 7 days long. Or should I take it for an entire semester instead so it won’t be too fast-paced?

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[Ms Procrastinator]

I dont recommend either a CC or summef course

Why not?

 

[3601]

I dont recommend either a CC or summef course

I emailed both UT Health Science Center and Baylor College of Medicine about whether or not they would accept junior college courses and they said as long as the courses are from ANY accredited college or university in the US or Canada and it shows up on your transcript they would accept it but they prefer upper level coursework (org chem, biochem, adv bio) to be taken at a university.

 

[Isoval]

I emailed both UT Health Science Center and Baylor College of Medicine about whether or not they would accept junior college courses and they said as long as the courses are from ANY accredited college or university in the US or Canada and it shows up on your transcript they would accept it but they prefer upper level coursework (org chem, biochem, adv bio) to be taken at a university.

They also accept people with 3.0s and 495s every once in a while. That doesn’t mean you should show up with either. It’s important to denote what looks good and what schools technically accept.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Why do they have a problem with summer classes? If anything its more difficult because its faster paced.

 

[mw18]

Anecdotally, I took organic I and II in a summer series (at a university, though) and had a great application cycle a few years ago. I don't think it has any tangible effect. I haven't seen actual data that it does or that people pay particular attention.

 

[Turkishking]

You can take it over summer, but the pace may be an issue. If the pace is not an issue, one or two courses over summer will not make a substantial difference in your application.

 

[lingmed]

I took Gen Chem 2 at Berkeley's summer session and to echo @gonnif it was no joke...in my (limited) experience the conceptual and technical/applied depth of the material in Gen Chem 2 is much more significant than in Gen Chem 1 so be ready for a tough class if you cram it into 10 weeks.

 

[RNtoMD87]

So it's only having to do with pace? I usually took 18-19 hours during a typical semester, and don't really have a life as it is. I don't go to the beach or anything like that. I literally go to work, get off work, do autopsies, sleep, wake up, go to the gym, work, autopsies, and study for future science classes on my days off. And on random tuesdays that I'm off teach diabetes class.

If I'm used to a pretty steady pace should there be no other problems? I'm looking forward to school being a welcome break.

 

[lingmed]

So it's only having to do with pace? I usually took 18-19 hours during a typical semester, and don't really have a life as it is. I don't go to the beach or anything like that. I literally go to work, get off work, do autopsies, sleep, wake up, go to the gym, work, autopsies, and study for future science classes on my days off. And on random tuesdays that I'm off teach diabetes class.

If I'm used to a pretty steady pace should there be no other problems? I'm looking forward to school being a welcome break.

Well I can't speak at all to the questions of optics of a summer course in the admissions process and it doesn't look too great upthread.

 

[drbatsandwich]

Doing gen chem 2 right now in 8 weeks... alongside 3 other classes. The alternative would be taking a gap year because a couple classes pushed me back one semester. If you are excellent at time management and disciplined enough to study nonstop during the summer, go for it. If not, don't let it jeopardize your GPA. Stay away from community college.

 

[RNtoMD87]

I'm just 31 and not getting any younger. Plus my GI bill has an expiration. I find it easier to bury myself in my studies and work the older I get and I don't feel like I have a choice.

When I was younger and unsure I wasn't able to remain dedicated but passion is a great thing. And I'm extremely competitive and want to be the best.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Next week is the last week of my 5-week ochem summer semester. It went by really fast and was a **** ton of material really fast. I don’t recommend it unless you don’t have a choice.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

The risk to this is you have no buffer. Lose a few study days and you are behind with little chance to catchup

This. My mcat is in 2 weeks, so I’m trying to juggle studying for both. I had to super cram for our exam on Thursday, and I barely got an A- because it was so much material in a week. Now we had an exam next week and the acs final and the lab final. It’s a lot.

The only upside is that if you’re not taking any other courses, it’s nice to have essentially a semester over in 5 weeks and only have to focus on that one class.

 

[RNtoMD87]

Thanks for the advice. If I have GChem, ochem, biochem, and physics left, how much should I start knocking out the first summer? Just one GChem and a lab? My RN contract ends next April.